Page 42 of Fixed Up Ever After
A girl could dream.
When he finally came out, dressed in black sweats that hung low on his hips and a gray T-shirt, the explosion of passion from earlier had simmered down to only a mild annoyance. Thoughts of the damn business agreement provided enough of a cockblock for now, but she didn’t know how much longer either of them could ignore these feelings.
While Javi got into bed, Lola slipped away into the bathroom. She took off her makeup, making sure to scrub her face clean. Sleeping with makeup on was a big no-no for her because it caused irritation to her skin. She then changed out of the stuffy dress she only wore around family and into her pink, silk, matching pajama set.
When she returned to the room, she felt Javi’s heated glare on her body, taking in every inch of exposed skin. She made no comment as she made a show of putting away her phone and getting comfortable in bed, all the while feeling his eyes on her.
Lola squirmed under his scrutiny, attempting to hide the blush creeping along her cheeks. “So, we should order that pizza now,” she said and dialed room service. Not an hour later, the two of them were in bed, eating a deliciously greasy pizza, and watching a movie.
About halfway through, Lola grew tired but tried to keep her eyes open and attentive. Apparently she was failing because Javi gathered the pizza box and paper plates and got up to toss them away. “We should sleep,” he said, his voice gruff but she wasn’t sure if that was from being tired or something else entirely.
“Goodnight, Javi,” she said right before she reached to turn off the light, leaving them in complete darkness. He didn’t respond to her, not at first. For ten minutes they lay in silence, only the sounds of their breathing comforting one another. Lola was certain he had fallen asleep and moved to make herself more comfortable, when two strong arms wrapped around her, pulling her to a hard chest.
She had never been held like this before, where the other person didn’t expect anything in return. Hot breath hit the back of her neck and Javi’s chest rose and fell in a slow rhythm. His grip around her tightened, not painfully, and not enough to keep her from moving away if she was uncomfortable. The small gesture made her feel important and safe.
She had no problem falling asleep that night.
In the morning, the sun crept through their curtains, cascading rays of light onto her face. The sun brought with it a new day and a new day meant she would have to face her family. If it were up to her, Lola would spend the entirety of their free day together in bed. But she knew from experience that letting unneeded tension fester between herself and her mom and sister would only result in a bigger scandal.
As if sensing her alertness and wandering thoughts, Javi’s arms tightened around her and pulled her flush against his chest. Every part of him was awake and ready to greet her and she couldn’t stop the slight wiggle she did to tease him. That earned her a groan and lips against her neck. “Don’t go.”
Soft lips explored her neck and she was inclined to just go with it. Lola let her head fall to the side, exposing more skin to him which he greedily took. “Stay,” he said again, his lips brushing against her ear.
How easy it would be to stay here and pretend things like her family or their business arrangement didn’t exist. How desperately she wanted to feel instead of thinking about the complicated set of emotions swirling through her brain and heart regarding him.
“I have to go check on my family.” The flimsy excuse sounded bad, even to her ears. But she did need to put out fires so the rest of the trip wasn’t harder than it had to be.
“Or…you can stay here and we can do more of absolutely nothing.” He bucked his hips against her backside and she had to hold back a moan. Wasn’t this the same man who told her they needed to cool it yesterday before things got hot and heavy? And now he was instigating something and her body so desperately wanted to give in.
Maybe just a little taste…
“No,” she had not realized she said it out loud until Javi’s lips and body stopped moving against her. Heat rushed to her cheeks and she quickly clarified. “I need to check in today. I don’t like conflict and I know they can be miserable people, but they are still my family. I want to make sure they don’t dislike me any more than normal and then I’ll be back. We don’t have anything planned for today, so we can spend the day doing whatever the hell we want,” she assured, hoping that would please him.
His arms dropped from around her and he rolled to his back. The absence of his body was immediately felt and she nearly took back her words. “You’re right. If you need to check on your mom and sister, I’m not going to stop you. Do you want me to go with you?” He didn’t seem excited about the idea, but it was sweet of him to offer.
“No, you stay here and get some more rest. I don’t think it will take too long.” She planned to find them, apologize for how things ended yesterday, and make sure they didn’t need anything from her. She didn’t think having Javi there would help and she couldn’t blame him for being wary around them.
“I’ll shower when you leave. Then I’ll be ready to go when we decide on our plans.”
“Perfect.” She reached to squeeze his hand before getting up. Last night she had set out simple jeans and a faded black crop top with a pocket on the breast. She escaped to the bathroom to relieve herself and get dressed. Her curls were curling today and there was no taming them. She wore her hair down proudly, thickness and all.
Sending a quick text to her dad, she found out her mother was in Marisol’s room making last-minute calls to guests and making sure the rest of her bridesmaids would be landing tomorrow.
“I’m leaving! I won’t be too long,” she called as soon as she opened the door.
“If you need backup, call me,” he said, sitting up in bed now. He caught what she had on and smiled approvingly. “Seriously? There is no reason you should look that damn good at all times.”
She hadn’t known she needed that boost of confidence and appreciated his words. “Enjoy your shower.” She winked at him and left, closing the door without waiting for his reply.
* * *
Marisol’sfront room was in complete disarray, at odds with the other rooms of her flashy penthouse suite that screamed of Daddy and fiancé’s money. She had thought her and Javi’s room was lavish, but it paled in comparison to the apartment-like accommodations her sister had. On her way in, she spotted two untouched rooms. Who needed two extra bedrooms? Clearly her sister.
Marisol and their mother were seated at a round glass table, the hotel phone and Marisol’s purple laptop between them. They ended a call with an uncle she believed to live in Tijuana, but she could be confusing him with one of the many other cousins her mother had. She was a bit surprised her mother considered inviting the extended family since they didn’t fit in with her new, flashy lifestyle.
“Good morning.” Lola’s voice startled both women, her mother’s dramatic shriek and hand to her chest as if she just had a heart attack never failed to make Lola cringe. Her mother was extra in the worst ways possible.
“Who let you in?” Her sister’s accusatory voice could have been aimed at a poorly trained assassin who announced he came to kill them instead of her baby sister who wanted to make sure they had recovered from yesterday.
